Vera Xavier walked ahead, deliberately putting so distance between herself and her grandparents to get closer to Aaron Cheney. Aaron took the hint, and seeing no one else around, he moved in front of her and whispered, "So, ma’am, how was my performance today?"
This was, strictly speaking, the first ti Vera Xavier had ever spoken to Aaron Cheney. She gave him a thumbs-up. "Fantastic!"
Aaron Cheney was so pleased he was practically walking on air. "Really? Then you have to put in a good word for with Nathaniel, so he’ll think of when sothing good cos up!"
Vera finally understood the other aning behind his words. "Did Nathaniel Nathan send you?" she asked.
"No," Aaron Cheney said with a smile. "Before Nathaniel left on his mission, he gave ** a mission: to protect you. He said if anything happened to you, he’d kill ! I was just worried you might run into so trouble today, so I tagged along. And sure enough, I got to be useful right away!"
Vera found his words amusing. She was now certain that the "Nathaniel" he kept ntioning was indeed Nathaniel Nathan. The man himself wasn’t here, but lately, she felt his presence everywhere.
’And most importantly, it’s actually a great feeling!’
The corners of her lips curved up. She looked at Aaron Cheney and said, "Did he say anything else to you before he left?"
"Nathaniel is incredible! He even saw this coming!" Aaron Cheney’s eyes sparkled. "He knew you would ask that, so he told to tell you: if anyone bullies you, and you think you can win, hit them right back. If you can’t win, co find , and I’ll hit them for you. And if you break them, or if you get into so huge ss you can’t solve, he’ll take care of it."
This was actually similar to what Nathaniel Nathan had told Vera Xavier himself before he left. She gave a slight purse of her lips. "A gentle person such as myself, resorting to violence at the drop of a hat? How damaging that would be to my ladylike image."
Aaron Cheney’s mouth twitched. "Ma’am, you were pretty fierce when you were jabbing Cara Preston just now."
"Did I jab her?" Vera Xavier said with a perfectly straight face. "Don’t just say things like that. She’s my own sister. How could I ever bring myself to jab her?"
Aaron Cheney: "..."
’So my eyes were playing tricks on ? Was I hallucinating?’
Vera Xavier reached out and patted Aaron Cheney’s shoulder. "In any case, thank you for today!"
She couldn’t stay with Aaron Cheney for too long, so she turned and left.
Aaron Cheney scratched his head. "Heh, she and Nathaniel are a perfect match. Both assertive, both devious!"
After Vera Xavier returned to the family ho, she saw her grandparents and Zachary Preston sitting in the living room, discussing sothing. When her grandmother saw her co in, she affectionately called Vera over to sit beside her.
Her grandmother said softly, "Vera, you’re too honest for your own good, child. If Aaron Cheney hadn’t happened to see the whole thing today, you would have been terribly wronged."
Vera Xavier smiled. "But Aaron Cheney did happen to see it, so I’m fine."
Her grandmother studied her for a long mont before saying, "I hear from your dad that Cara has been giving you a lot of trouble in the city lately, but you never stoop to her level. It must be hard on you, mustn’t it?"
"No," Vera Xavier said. ’My last life was what was truly hard.’ In this life, she had Nathaniel Nathan’s protection and Zachary Preston’s care.
Although Rona Langdon and Cara Preston constantly made trouble for her in the Preston family, she never ca out on the losing end. Besides, she knew Rona Langdon wasn’t her biological mother, so she truly didn’t feel upset. ’I have my own plans. The one who’s really going to suffer is Rona Langdon.’
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